Generating targeted analysis results in a support system

ABSTRACT

Generating targeted analysis results in a support system is disclosed. Computing device information about a supported computing device in which a problem was encountered is received. Identification of a designated subset of tags of a plurality of tags is received. A plurality of analyzers is initiated to analyze the computing device information. The plurality of analyzers is configured to generate a plurality of results based on the computing device information. Tags of the plurality of tags are associated with the plurality of results. A subset of results are generated by discarding each result from the plurality of results that have no associated tags that match a tag in the designated subset of tags. The subset of results is output.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/440,585 filed on Feb. 23, 2017, entitled “GENERATINGTARGETED ANALYSIS RESULTS IN A SUPPORT SYSTEM,” which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The examples relate generally to analyzing problems in computing devicesand, in particular, to generating targeted analysis results in a supportsystem.

BACKGROUND

A runtime computing device environment can have hundreds or thousands ofdifferent configuration options, and can run a complex mix ofapplications, operating systems, middleware systems, and/or otherprocesses. If the runtime computing device environment encounters aproblem, a vendor of software running in the runtime computing deviceenvironment may be requested to determine what the problem is, and tocorrect the problem.

SUMMARY

The disclosed examples facilitate the resolution of problems encounteredin computing environments. The examples allow the designation of asubset of tags that can be used to filter results of an analysis engine.Results that do not have associated tags that match a tag in the subsetof tags are discarded, leaving only results that relate to thedesignated tags. The examples facilitate targeted analysis results toaid in the resolution of problems encountered in computing environments.

In one example a method is provided. The method includes receiving, by acomputing device comprising a processor device, computing deviceinformation about a supported computing device in which a problem wasencountered. The method further includes receiving identification of adesignated subset of tags of a plurality of tags. The method furtherincludes initiating a plurality of analyzers to analyze the computingdevice information, the plurality of analyzers configured to generate aplurality of results based on the computing device information. Themethod further includes associating tags of the plurality of tags withthe plurality of results. The method further includes generating asubset of results by discarding each result from the plurality ofresults that have no associated tags that match a tag in the designatedsubset of tags and includes outputting the subset of results.

In another example a computing device is provided. The computing deviceincludes a memory and a processor device coupled to the memory. Theprocessor device is to receive computing device information about asupported computing device in which a problem was encountered. Theprocessor device is further to receive identification of a designatedsubset of tags of a plurality of tags. The processor device is furtherto initiate a plurality of analyzers to analyze the computing deviceinformation, the plurality of analyzers configured to generate aplurality of results based on the computing device information. Theprocessor device is further to associate tags of the plurality of tagswith the plurality of results. The processor device is further togenerate a subset of results by discarding each result from theplurality of results that have no associated tags that match a tag inthe designated subset of tags and is further to output the subset ofresults.

In another example a computer program product is provided. The computerprogram product is stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium and includes instructions to cause a processor device to receivecomputing device information about a supported computing device in whicha problem was encountered. The instructions further cause the processordevice to receive identification of a designated subset of tags of aplurality of tags. The instructions further cause the processor deviceto initiate a plurality of analyzers to analyze the computing deviceinformation. The plurality of analyzers are configured to generate aplurality of results based on the computing device information. Theinstructions further cause the processor device to associate tags of theplurality of tags with the plurality of results. The instructionsfurther cause the processor device to generate a subset of results bydiscarding each result from the plurality of results that have noassociated tags that match a tag in the designated subset of tags andcause the processor device to output the subset of results.

Individuals will appreciate the scope of the disclosure and realizeadditional aspects thereof after reading the following detaileddescription of the examples in association with the accompanying drawingfigures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part ofthis specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and,together with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment in which examples may bepracticed;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for generating targeted analysisresults in a support system according to one example;

FIG. 3 is flowchart of a method for generating content records accordingto one example;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the environment illustrated in FIG. 1according to another example; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing device suitable forimplementing examples according to one example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The examples set forth below represent the information to enableindividuals to practice the examples and illustrate the best mode ofpracticing the examples. Upon reading the following description in lightof the accompanying drawing figures, individuals will understand theconcepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of theseconcepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood thatthese concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosureand the accompanying claims.

Any flowcharts discussed herein are necessarily discussed in somesequence for purposes of illustration, but unless otherwise explicitlyindicated, the examples are not limited to any particular sequence ofsteps. The use herein of ordinals in conjunction with an element issolely for distinguishing what might otherwise be similar or identicallabels, such as “first result” and “second result,” and does not imply apriority, a type, an importance, or other attribute, unless otherwisestated herein. As used herein and in the claims, the articles “a” and“an” in reference to an element refers to “one or more” of the elementunless otherwise explicitly specified.

A runtime computing device environment can have hundreds or thousands ofdifferent configuration options, and can run a complex mix ofapplication, operating system, middleware, and/or other processes. Ifthe runtime computing device environment encounters a problem, a vendorof software running in the runtime computing device environment may berequested to determine what the problem is, and to correct the problem.

Because of the wide variety of differences in computing deviceenvironments, the types of processes running in computing deviceenvironments, the different versions of processes running in computingdevice environments, and the hundreds or thousands of other potentialdifferences between computing device environments, vendors can spend asubstantial amount of time identifying the cause of a problem. This canbe costly and can result in a substantial delay between being notifiedof a problem by a customer and identifying the cause of the problem.This delay can lead to customer dissatisfaction.

Consequently, over time, vendors often build up a knowledge store ofinformation relating to past problems encountered by customers to aidtechnical support engineers (TSEs) in identifying and resolving futureproblems encountered by a computing device of a customer. Whenattempting to resolve a problem, this knowledge store may be analyzed bya TSE to determine whether similar or identical problems have beenpreviously encountered and resolved. A vendor, based on previouslyidentified problems in other computing device environments, mayimplement mechanisms that automatically analyze information obtainedfrom a customer's computing device environment and that generate resultsbased on the analysis. However, as more and more problems areidentified, such systems can generate a large quantity of results, fewof which may be relevant to the problem encountered by the particularcomputing device. Overwhelming a TSE with tens or hundreds of analysisresults that are unrelated to a problem encountered by a particularcomputing device environment may delay resolution of the problem ratherthan expedite resolution of the problem.

The disclosed examples facilitate the resolution of problems encounteredin computing environments. The examples allow the designation of asubset of tags that can be used to filter results of an analysis engine.Results that do not have associated tags that match a tag in the subsetof tags are discarded, leaving only results that relate to thedesignated tags. The examples facilitate targeted analysis results toaid in the resolution of problems encountered in computing environments.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an environment 10 in whichexamples may be practiced. The environment 10 includes a customerenvironment 12 and a vendor environment 14. While for purposes ofillustration the examples are discussed in the context ofvendor-customer environments, the examples are not limited to suchenvironments, and have applicability in any environment that involvesthe identification of problems in computing environments. Computingdevices in the customer environment 12 and the vendor environment 14 maycommunicate with one another via one or more networks 16.

A supported computing device 18 in the customer environment 12encounters a problem. The problem can comprise any malfunctionassociated with the hardware or software of the supported computingdevice 18. In response to the problem, the customer generates computingdevice information 20 for use by the vendor to determine the cause ofthe problem and the solution to the problem. The computing deviceinformation 20 includes information about the problem and informationabout the supported computing device 18 that may facilitate the analysisof the problem by the vendor. In one example, the computing deviceinformation 20 may include a case description 22 that provides a briefdescription of the problem. The computing device information 20 may alsoinclude system diagnostics 24 that contain diagnostic information aboutthe supported computing device 18, such as, by way of non-limitingexample, the hardware configuration, the software configuration, and theoperational state of the supported computing device 18. In a Linuxcomputing environment, the system diagnostics 24 may be generated byrunning a SOS report on the supported computing device 18. The computingdevice information 20 may also include one or more file attachments 26that the customer deemed to be related to the problem and that thecustomer deemed to be potentially useful in analyzing the problem. Thecomputing device information 20 may also include a problem statement 28that describes the problem from the customer's viewpoint. The computingdevice information 20 may also include a product version 30 thatidentifies the product that encountered the problem, and the version ofthe product.

In some examples, the computing device information 20 may be assembled,or generated, via a vendor support application 32 that executes on thesupported computing device 18, or another computing device in thecustomer environment 12. The vendor support application 32 may requestcertain information from the customer and may request that the customerrun one or more processes to obtain certain information about thesupported computing device 18. The vendor support application 32 mayalso automatically run one or more processes to obtain certaininformation about the supported computing device 18. The vendor supportapplication 32 may then communicate the computing device information 20to the vendor environment 14.

The vendor environment 14 includes a support system 33. In one examplethe support system 33 includes an initial case analyzer 34 thatinitially receives and analyzes the computing device information 20. Theinitial case analyzer 34 may comprise an executable process thatautomatically, without human involvement, parses the computing deviceinformation 20 to derive one or more tags 36 about the computing deviceinformation 20. The term “tag” as used herein refers to a set ofpredetermined data descriptors. A tag can be associated with data suchas, in this case, the computing device information 20, in response to anentity determining that the tag describes the data. For example, theinitial case analyzer 34 may associate a tag of “networking” to thecomputing device information 20 based on data in the computing deviceinformation 20. As another example, the initial case analyzer 34 mayassociate a “storage” tag, a “file system” tag, a “security” tag, or thelike to the computing device information 20. In one example, the tag ortags associated with the computing device information 20 by the initialcase analyzer 34 may be used to route the computing device information20 to a particular group of TSEs.

In one example, an analysis engine 38 of the support system 33 receivesthe computing device information 20 and the tags 36 from the initialcase analyzer 34. The analysis engine 38 includes an integration layer40 that, at a time T1, generates a user interface 42 and causespresentation of the user interface 42 on a display device 44. The userinterface 42 may include case information 46 that contains descriptiveinformation about the computing device information 20, such as the casedescription 22 and/or the problem statement 28. The user interface 42may also allow a user 48, such as a TSE, to access any of the computingdevice information 20 and view the computing device information 20. Theuser interface 42 also depicts a plurality of selectable tags 50-1-50-8(generally, tags 50). The plurality of selectable tags 50 may compriseall predetermined tags known to the analysis engine 38. While forpurposes of illustration only eight tags 50 are depicted, in practice,the plurality of selectable tags 50 may comprise tens or hundreds ofdifferent predetermined tags. The user 48 may, after a review of thecase information 46, select a designated subset of tags 50-1, 50-3, and50-6 from the plurality of tags 50, resulting in user input 54 thatidentifies the designated subset of tags 50-1, 50-3, and 50-6 to theintegration layer 40.

In one example a mapper generator 56 generates one or more mappers58-1-58-N (generally, mappers 58). The mappers 58 comprise a condensedversion of data from the computing device information 20. A mapper 58includes predetermined subject fields, and, if present in the computingdevice information 20, corresponding values for the predeterminedsubject fields. For example, the mapper 58-N contains a plurality ofpredetermined subject fields 60-1-60-4. The subject field 60-1 relatesto a type of processor device of the supported computing device 18. Themapper generator 56 analyzes the computing device information 20 anddetermines, from the computing device information 20, that the type ofprocessor device of the supported computing device 18 is an “I5-2400”processor device. The mapper generator 56 inserts the value “I5-2400”into a value field 62-1 that corresponds to the subject field 60-1.Similarly, the subject field 60-2 relates to an amount of memory in thesupported computing device 18. The mapper generator 56 analyzes thecomputing device information 20 and determines, from the computingdevice information 20, that the amount of memory in the supportedcomputing device 18 is 16 gigabytes. The mapper generator 56 inserts thevalue “16 GB” into a value field 62-2 that corresponds to the subjectfield 60-2. Similarly, the mapper generator 56 inserts data into valuefields 62-3 and 62-4 that corresponds to subject fields 60-3 and 60-4,respectively.

The analysis engine 38 has access to a plurality of analyzers 66-1-66-N(generally, analyzers 66). Each analyzer 66 is an executable process,such as, by way of non-limiting example, a python program or script,which includes conditional logic that examines one or more value fields62 in the mappers 58 and generates a result based on the conditionallogic and the values in the one or more value fields 62. The analyzers66 are generated based, in part, on the resolution of past problemsencountered by a customer. For example, if a TSE determines that aparticular problem repeatedly arises when a particular operating systemversion is used in conjunction with a particular network driver version,the TSE may generate an analyzer 66 that determines if the value field62 of a subject field 60 that relates to the operating system matchesthe particular operating system version, and if a value field 62 of asubject field 60 that relates to the network driver version matches theparticular network driver version. If both conditions are met, theanalyzer 66 may generate a result indicating that a certain problemexists, or is likely to occur, in the supported computing device 18. Theuse of the mappers 58, among other advantages, eliminates the need foreach analyzer 66 to parse through the computing device information 20 toidentify relevant criteria. Instead, each analyzer 66 can relativelyquickly access the appropriate value field 62 of interest and determine,based on the value of one or more value fields 62, whether a particularcondition is met. While for purposes of illustration only five analyzers66 are illustrated, over time a vendor may generate hundreds orthousands of analyzers 66 based on the resolution of hundreds orthousands of past problems.

An analyzer executor 64 initiates the plurality of analyzers 66. Theanalyzer executor 64 may execute the analyzers 66 consecutively or mayinitiate groups of analyzers 66 in parallel. Each analyzer 66 generatesa corresponding result 70-1-70-N (generally, results 70) based on theconditional logic of the respective analyzer 66 and the particular valuefields 62. In some examples, the analyzers 66 return the results 70 tothe analyzer executor 64 via an inter-program communication mechanism,such as an application programming interface.

A content builder 72 includes, or has access to, a plurality oftemplates 74-1-74-N (generally, templates 74), each of which correspondsto one of the analyzers 66, and also corresponds to the result 70generated by the corresponding analyzer 66. The content builder 72merges the results 70-1-70-N with the corresponding templates 74-1-74-Nto generate corresponding formatted results 76-1-76-N. The templates 74include, for example, textual descriptive information that may becombined with the corresponding results 70 to provide a detailedexplanation of the problem and a corresponding solution for a TSE.

Each template 74 also has one or more predetermined tags 50 associatedwith the template 74. The predetermined tags 50 may be associated withthe template 74 during the generation of the template 74, and are basedon the particular analyzer 66. For example, a template 74 thatcorresponds to an analyzer 66 that analyzes the operating system versionand the network driver version of the supported computing device 18 mayhave associated predetermined tags 50 of “networking” and “operatingsystem.” The content builder 72 generates content records 78-1-78-N,each of which includes a formatted result 76 and the tags 50 that areassociated with the template 74 used to generate the formatted result76. For example, the content record 78-1 includes the formatted result76-1 and the associated tags 50-1, 50-7, and 50-8.

A filterer 80 receives the content records 78 and generates a subset offormatted results 76-1, 76-3, and 76-4 from the plurality of formattedresults 76 based on the tags 50 associated with the formatted results 76and the designated subset of tags 50-1, 50-3, and 50-6 previouslyselected by the user 48. In particular, the filterer 80 discards eachresult 76 that has no associated tags 50 that match one of the subset oftags 50-1, 50-3, and 50-6. In this example, each of content records 78-2and 78-N have no associated tags 50 that match one of the subset of tags50-1, 50-3, and 50-6, and thus formatted results 76-2 and 76-N arediscarded. The filterer 80 outputs the subset of formatted results 76-1,76-3, and 76-4. In one example, the filterer 80 outputs the subset offormatted results 76-1, 76-3, and 76-4 by causing presentation of thesubset of formatted results 76-1, 76-3, and 76-4 on the display device44 at a time T2.

In this manner, the examples allow the user 48 to view only thoseresults 70 generated by the analyzers 66 that are likely to pertain tothe topics that the user 48 designated via the designated subset of tags50-1, 50-3, and 50-6. Thus, rather than having to view hundreds ofresults 70 and determine which of such results 70 are likely to bepertinent, the user 48 can quickly analyze only relevant results 70because irrelevant results 70 were discarded by the filterer 80 based onthe designated subset of tags 50-1, 50-3, and 50-6.

For purposes of illustration, the support system 33 has been describedin the context of functional processing components, such as the initialcase analyzer 34 and the analysis engine 38, and the analysis engine 38has been discussed in terms of additional processing components, such asthe integration layer 40, the analyzer executor 64, the content builder72, and the filterer 80. However, FIG. 1 merely illustrates one way ofimplementing the disclosed examples, and the examples may be implementedin any number of different ways that may involve more processingcomponents or fewer processing components than illustrated in FIG. 1.Moreover, while not illustrated in FIG. 1 due to space limitations, theinitial case analyzer 34 and the analysis engine 38 may be processingcomponents that are implemented on one or more computing devices thatinclude processing devices. In such examples, functionality discussedherein that is attributed to a particular processing component may beattributed to a computing device or a processing device.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for generating targeted analysisresults in the support system 33 according to one example. FIG. 2 willbe discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1. The support system 33 receivesthe computing device information 20 about the supported computing device18 in which a problem was encountered (FIG. 2, block 100). The supportsystem 33 receives an identification of a designated subset of tags50-1, 50-3, and 50-6 of the plurality of tags 50 (FIG. 2, block 102).The support system 33 initiates the plurality of analyzers 66 to analyzethe computing device information 20. The plurality of analyzers 66 areconfigured to generate the plurality of results 70 based on thecomputing device information 20 (FIG. 2, block 104). The support system33 associates tags 50 of the plurality of tags 50 with the plurality ofresults 70, such as via the templates 74 according to one example (FIG.2, block 106). In other examples, the analyzers 66 may generate outputrecords that include formatted results 70 and the associated tags 50.

The support system 33 generates the subset of results 76-1, 76-3, and76-4 by discarding each result 76-2, 76-N from the plurality of results76 that have no associated tags 50 that match a tag 50 in the designatedsubset of tags 50-1, 50-3, and 50-6 (FIG. 2, block 108). The filterer 80outputs the subset of results 76-1, 76-3, and 76-4 (FIG. 2, block 110).

FIG. 3 is flowchart of a method for generating the content records 78according to one example. FIG. 3 will be discussed in conjunction withFIG. 1. The content builder 72 receives, or otherwise obtains, theresults 70 generated by the analyzers 66. For each result 70, thecontent builder 72 determines a template 74 that corresponds to theresult 70 (FIG. 3, block 200). In one example, a cross-reference tablemay identify the correspondence between each analyzer 66, the results 70of each analyzer 66, and the corresponding template 74. The contentbuilder 72 merges the result 70 with the template 74 to generate aformatted result 76 (FIG. 3, block 202). The content builder 72identifies the predetermined set of tags 50 associated with the template74, and associates the predetermined set of tags 50 with the formattedresult 76 (FIG. 3, blocks 204-206).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the environment 10 according to anotherexample. In this example, the analysis engine 38 (FIG. 1) is aprocessing component of a computing device 82. The computing device 82includes a memory 84 and a processor device 86. The processor device 86is coupled to the memory 84 and is to receive the computing deviceinformation 20 about the supported computing device 18 in which theproblem was encountered. The processor device 86 is further to receiveidentification of a designated subset of tags 50-1, 50-3, and 50-6, andto initiate the plurality of analyzers 66 to analyze the computingdevice information 20. The plurality of analyzers 66 is configured togenerate a plurality of results 70 based on the computing deviceinformation 20. The processor device 86 associates tags 50 of theplurality of tags 50 with the plurality of results 70. The processordevice 86 generates a subset 88 of results 70 by discarding each result70 from the plurality of results 70 that have no associated tags 50 thatmatch a tag 50 in the designated subset of tags 50.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the computing device 82 suitable forimplementing examples according to one example. The computing device 82may comprise any computing or electronic device capable of includingfirmware, hardware, and/or executing software instructions to implementthe functionality described herein, such as a computer server, a desktopcomputing device, a laptop computing device, or the like. The computingdevice 82 includes the processor device 86, the system memory 84, and asystem bus 90. The system bus 90 provides an interface for systemcomponents including, but not limited to, the system memory 84 and theprocessor device 86. The processor device 86 can be any commerciallyavailable or proprietary processor.

The system bus 90 may be any of several types of bus structures that mayfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and/or a local bus using any of a varietyof commercially available bus architectures. The system memory 84 mayinclude non-volatile memory 92 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.), and volatile memory 94(e.g., random-access memory (RAM)). A basic input/output system (BIOS)96 may be stored in the non-volatile memory 92 and can include the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements within thecomputing device 82. The volatile memory 94 may also include ahigh-speed RAM, such as static RAM, for caching data.

The computing device 82 may further include or be coupled to anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a storage device97, which may comprise, for example, an internal or external hard diskdrive (HDD) (e.g., enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) orserial advanced technology attachment (SATA)), HDD (e.g., EIDE or SATA)for storage, flash memory, or the like. The storage device 97 and otherdrives associated with computer-readable media and computer-usable mediamay provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures,computer-executable instructions, and the like. Although the descriptionof computer-readable media above refers to an HDD, it should beappreciated that other types of media that are readable by a computer,such as Zip disks, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges,and the like, may also be used in the operating environment, and,further, that any such media may contain computer-executableinstructions for performing novel methods of the disclosed examples.

A number of modules can be stored in the storage device 97 and in thevolatile memory 94, including an operating system 98 and one or moreprogram modules, such as the analysis engine 38, which may implement thefunctionality described herein in whole or in part. It is to beappreciated that the examples can be implemented with variouscommercially available operating systems 98 or combinations of operatingsystems 98.

A number of modules can be stored in the storage device 97 and in thevolatile memory 94, including, by way of non-limiting example, theanalysis engine 38. All or a portion of the examples may be implementedas a computer program product 95 stored on a transitory ornon-transitory computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium, suchas the storage device 97, which includes complex programminginstructions, such as complex computer-readable program code, to causethe processor device 86 to carry out the steps described herein. Thus,the computer-readable program code can comprise software instructionsfor implementing the functionality of the examples described herein whenexecuted on the processor device 86. The processor device 86, inconjunction with the analysis engine 38 in the volatile memory 94, mayserve as a controller, or control system, for the computing device 82that is to implement the functionality described herein.

An operator, such as the user 48, may also be able to enter one or moreconfiguration commands through a keyboard (not illustrated), a pointingdevice such as a mouse (not illustrated), or a touch-sensitive surface.Such input devices may be connected to the processor device 86 throughan input device interface that is coupled to the system bus 90 but canbe connected by other interfaces such as a parallel port, an Instituteof Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 1394 serial port, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) port, an IR interface, and the like.

The computing device 82 may also include a communications interface 99suitable for communicating with the network(s) 16 as appropriate ordesired. The computing device 82 may also include a video portconfigured to interface with the display device 44, to provideinformation to the user 48.

Individuals will recognize improvements and modifications to thepreferred examples of the disclosure. All such improvements andmodifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosedherein and the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a computingdevice comprising a processor device over a network, computing deviceinformation about a supported computing device in which a problem wasencountered; receiving identification of a designated subset of tags ofa plurality of tags; generating, by at least one process executed by thecomputing device, a plurality of results based on an analysis of thecomputing device information; associating tags of the plurality of tagswith the plurality of results by applying templates to the plurality ofresults to generate a corresponding plurality of formatted results, eachtemplate including a predetermined set of tags associated with arespective corresponding formatted result; generating a subset offormatted results by discarding each formatted result from the pluralityof formatted results that has no associated tags that match a tag in thedesignated subset of tags; and outputting the subset of formattedresults.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: analyzing thecomputing device information; and automatically identifying a set oftags based on analyzing the computing device information; and whereinthe plurality of tags includes the set of tags.
 3. The method of claim 1further comprising: causing presentation of a user interface on adisplay device that depicts each tag of the plurality of tags; andreceiving user input that identifies the designated subset of tags. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein applying the templates to the plurality ofresults further comprises, for each result: determining a template thatcorresponds to the result; merging the result with the template togenerate a formatted result; identifying the predetermined set of tagsassociated with the template; and associating the predetermined set oftags with the formatted result.
 5. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: accessing a mapper that contains a plurality ofpredetermined subject fields; accessing the computing deviceinformation; automatically analyzing the computing device information toidentify values for at least some of the predetermined subject fields;and modifying the mapper to include values for the at least some of thepredetermined subject fields.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereingenerating the subset of formatted results comprises: determining, foreach formatted result of the plurality of formatted results, whether anytag of the tags associated with the formatted result match any tag inthe designated subset of tags; and discarding each formatted result thathas no associated tag that matches a tag in the designated subset oftags.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein outputting the subset offormatted results comprises causing presentation of the subset offormatted results on a display device.
 8. The method of claim 1 whereinreceiving the computing device information comprises receiving systeminformation that identifies memory, processor, and version attributesassociated with a running environment of the computing deviceinformation.
 9. A computing device, comprising: a memory; and aprocessor device coupled to the memory to: receive over a networkcomputing device information about a supported computing device in whicha problem was encountered; receive identification of a designated subsetof tags of a plurality of tags, each tag of the plurality of tagscomprising a predetermined data descriptor; generate, by at least oneprocess executed by the computing device, a plurality of results basedon an analysis of the computing device information; associate tags ofthe plurality of tags with the plurality of results by applyingtemplates to the plurality of results to generate a correspondingplurality of formatted results, each template including a predeterminedset of tags associated with a respective corresponding formatted result;generate a subset of formatted results by discarding each formattedresult from the plurality of formatted results that has no associatedtags that match a tag in the designated subset of tags; and output thesubset of formatted results.
 10. The computing device of claim 9 whereinthe processor device is further to: analyze the computing deviceinformation; and automatically identify a set of tags based on analyzingthe computing device information, and wherein the plurality of tagsincludes the set of tags.
 11. The computing device of claim 9 wherein toapply the templates to the plurality of results the processor device isfurther to, for each result: determine a template that corresponds tothe result; merge the result with the template to generate a formattedresult; identify the predetermined set of tags associated with thetemplate; and associate the predetermined set of tags with the formattedresult.
 12. The computing device of claim 9 wherein to generate thesubset of formatted results the processor device is further to:determine, for each formatted result of the plurality of formattedresults, whether any tag of the tags associated with the formattedresult match any tag in the designated subset of tags; and discard eachformatted result that has no associated tag that matches a tag in thedesignated subset of tags.
 13. A computer program product stored on anon-transitory computer- readable storage medium and includinginstructions to cause a processor device to: receive over a networkcomputing device information about a supported computing device in whicha problem was encountered; receive identification of a designated subsetof tags of a plurality of tags; generate, by at least one processexecuted by the computing device, a plurality of results based on ananalysis of the computing device information; associate tags of theplurality of tags with the plurality of results by applying templates tothe plurality of results to generate a corresponding plurality offormatted results, each template including a predetermined set of tagsassociated with a respective corresponding formatted result; generate asubset of formatted results by discarding each formatted result from theplurality of formatted results that has no associated tags that match atag in the designated subset of tags; and output the subset of formattedresults.
 14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein theinstructions further cause the processor device to: analyze thecomputing device information; and automatically identify a set of tagsbased on analyzing the computing device information, and wherein theplurality of tags includes the set of tags.
 15. The computer programproduct of claim 13 wherein to apply the templates to the plurality ofresults the instructions further cause the processor device to, for eachresult: determine a template that corresponds to the result; merge theresult with the template to generate a formatted result; identify thepredetermined set of tags associated with the template; and associatethe predetermined set of tags with the formatted result.
 16. Thecomputer program product of claim 13 wherein to generate the subset offormatted results the instructions further cause the processor deviceto: determine, for each formatted result of the plurality of formattedresults, whether any tag of the tags associated with the formattedresult match any tag in the designated subset of tags; and discard eachformatted result that has no associated tag that matches a tag in thedesignated subset of tags.